Theology Everywhere

Towards a Postcolonial Methodist Church in Britain

by Raj Bharat Patta.
In September 2022, I attended the Church of South India's Platinum jubilee celebrations in Chennai to represent the Methodist Church in Britain as a mission partner. When the Church of South India (CSI) sent an invitation to the Methodist Church in Britain to join them at their platinum jubilee celebrations, they were expecting a White English British person. But when I landed in Chennai, it was a total surprise for the hosts to see yet another Indian who was speaking a native South Indian language representing the Methodist Church in Britain. A participant asked me whether I 'really' represent British Methodist Church? I had to reply with a smile, 'certainly yes.'

The reason for their surprise was, how come an Indian Lutheran minister now attending a CSI celebration representing the Methodist Church in Britain? All I had to say was that the Methodist Church in Britain today is a postcolonial church seeking to be relevant for our times by celebrating multicultural, multi-ethnic, multilinguistic identities, for which I, as a person with multiple-belongings stand as a testimony. However, that made me think to reflect what does it mean for the Methodist Church in Britain to be postcolonial today?

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